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Akemi is given a mission to find a rare flower. Lucky for her, Bakuryu comes along to help!

"Finding a Rare Flower: What a Stroke of Luck!"

Toshiba Forest

Akemi walked carefully through the dense vegetation of Toshiba Forest, her eyes searching the ground meticulously. As a member of the Tenjin clan, who were renowned for their knowledge of plant life, she had been recruited by the local healers to locate a specific medicinal herb that was rarely found in these parts - Black Nightshade. Now normally, Nightshade was a very poisonous herb that should never set root in a hospital, but Black Nightshade was an unusual genetic phenomenon. Instead of harming its ingester, it provides one with miraculous speed fo healing when applied topically to wounds.
Akemi sighs quietly and wipes a bit of sweat from her brow. It was hot, here.. Almost as humid as a rainforest. She hoped she would be able to locate it soon so that she could go swimming in the lake afterwards.

Bakuryu wandered through the Toshiba Forest, idly examining all of the vegetation. He'd always been somewhat curious about what all of the plants did and what their purpose was… much like what his purpose was in life. He was still young and he knew that, but what was his true mission? There must be a reason for his recent move to Konohagakure. Bakuryu wondered if anybody else in the Uchiha Clan felt the same as he did. Being out in the forest made the young Bakuryu feel better although it was hot and humid, with a slight wind lazily drifting through his spiky black hair. Before long, his thoughts were cut short and the young boy spotted another person 20 meters away. She seemed to be searching for something in the forest.
Bakuryu took one more step to properly and casually cut off his stride. A twig snapped underneath his final step. Bakuryu wanted to react to his natural aspirations as a ninja and hide, but he didn't. He stopped to see how the girl would react to his presence, keeping his hands in his pockets, slightly curling his fingers and tensing up his shoulders.

Akemi honestly hadn't noticed the boy's presence until she heard his footfalls approach over some of the dry foliage, and she turned her head to look at him. He appeared to be a young Genin, fresh out of the Academy. Smiling kindly, she tucked a bit of her long, straight black hair behind her ear before nodding her head in acknowledgment. "Good afternoon.. Um, are you looking for something?" She would have readily offered her assistance in finding some plant for the boy, even if it meant delaying her own search for a while. She was perhaps a bit too kindhearted for her own good. Her green eyes shined pleasantly as she waited for his response.

Bakuryu's ears almost visibly perked up as if he were a dog. The young Genin was still ruing the day he left his old village and his friends behind. The move has left him speechless. Had his family moved to Konoha in order to become closer with their clan? There, they were the police. Although Bakuryu was now closer to his own kind, he still felt left out. Alone. On the inside, he was just a small, scared, and shy boy, but on the outside it was a whole different story.
Bakuryu's eyebrows furrowed slightly and an almost irritated expression crossed his face. He longed to run forward and play with the girl, but his mind told him otherwise. He was in a battle with himself and struggled to maintain composure. "What are you doing?" He called out to the girl.

Akemi raised her eyebrows in an expression of mild surprise. He didn't seem to be very happy at the moment. Perhaps she would be able to cheer him up? Smiling, she holds up a small wicker basket which she had draped over her arm. "I'm looking for a rare flower," she explained, walking closer to the boy. "It's an important herb for the healers at the hospital, so it's important that I find it. You can help me if you like - how are your eyes?"

Bakuryu's gaze wandered up and down slightly, trying not to make it obvious that he was trying to take in every detail of the girl, noticing nothing out of the ordinary about her. His gaze then slighted over to the basket she was holding. "This is to help people, huh? I'll do it… My eyes are fine. My parents told me to take good care of my eyes because they're going to be more important than I know as I get older. Whatever…"
Bakuryu shrugged it off and looked around at the immediate area, wondering what this rare flower must look like. "So… what does this flower look like, anyway?"

Akemi smiled brightly, glad to have caught the boy's interest. Reaching into a pocket of her kimono, she pulled out a small paper with a sketch of the flower on it. "We are looking for this flower - Black Nightshade. It's petals are such a deep purple that they appear to be black. They have five separate petals, and are commonly seen growing alongside dark colored berries - but don't touch them. The berries are highly poisonous." Nodding, she tucked the picture back away. "My name is Tenjin Akemi. What is yours?"

Bakuryu nods to acknowledge Akemi's smile, but doesn't reciprocate with his own emotions of happiness. He studies the sketch intently and eyes it up and down various times, attempting to take in every detail about it. "Got it… I'll try to watch out for the berries, then." Bakuryu begins looking around for a high tree that's near them. "My name's Bakuryu… of the Uchiha clan." He begins to tersely walk towards the tree and stops at the bottom of it, he turns to Akemi. "We might have a better chance of locating it from high ground," he states as he jumps onto the lowest branch and begins to easily climb the tree, his body swaying under and around branching in order to ascend.

Akemi watched Baku ascend, and blinked amusedly. She supposed for someone of the Uchiha clan, far-sightedness must be common. For her, though, she preferred to stick near the ground so that she could see all the flowers close up. "I'll take the low road," she called out to him, and began hunting through the dense foliage. "Just a warning, it may take a while.. They are rather rare.." Her eyes scanned through the sea of green and bright colors as she moved carefully, as not to harm anything.

RPCOMBAT: Akemi defends against with a PERCEPTION…21

Bakuryu hears her call out and makes a silent acknowledgement of her, taking note of her search tactic and making a quick analytical note of its gentle nature. Bakuryu stops at a high enough point in the tree and begins to scan the nearest area first in a circle, slowly going out more and more as he completes each circle scan. The heat and humidity has brought out some of the least desirable insects, especially in the trees as Bakuryu quickly dispatches them with a quick back swipe of his hand. After taking care of the insect, the young boy continues scanning the area, hoping he can spot the flower in question before Akemi does in a sort of competitive manner.

Akemi continues searching for several minutes, but to no avail. She sighs quietly and pulls the front of her kimono to try and get some cool air on her body. Looking up, she shades her eyes with her hand and tries to spot Baku. He had already gone quite a distance, it seemed. "Hey, Baku-kun! Do you see anything?"

Bakuryu, at this point, has one hand shading his eyes from the sun that seems to protrude more through the greenery at an elevated height and has his other hand wrapped around the tree. After a few moments of scanning, he double takes and fixes in on one point, utilizing the eagle eyes that the Uchiha Clan is famous for. Bakuryu points out directly where the flower is for Akemi and calls out "There, I think I see it!"

Akemi's eyes widen dramatically. "Do you really?!" she exclaimed, following his finger with her eyes and trying to get through the shrubbery as quickly as she could without trampling the plants. Sure enough, the closer she got, the more defined those black-purple petals were. "That's incredible," she breathed, laughing a bit incredulously. Kneeling down, Akemi carefully harvested all of the blooms and put them in her basket, then waved down for Baku to come and join her. "Come on down!" she called out with a grin. "We've got it!"

Bakuryu was already on his way down the tree, descending quickly when he could confirm from Akemi's body language that she had found it. Whilst climbing down, Bakuryu couldn't help but smirk as he felt even the least bit useful and has done his one small deed for the day to prove his worth with the new village. He wanted them to know what he had done to help, but he didn't want it to be shouted from the rooftops. He casually began walking on the pathway closest to Akemi and eyed her from a distance. "I have to get going. My parents might be wondering where I am and I don't wanna get in trouble with them." His eyes wandered away in shame and disappointment. He didn't want to admit just yet that he had made a new friend and so he kept his distance, for the fear of losing this one as easily as he did the others.

Akemi blinked a bit, but smiled and nodded her understanding. She bowed her head gently to the younger boy. "Thank you very much for your help. It likely would have taken hours on my own.. I will make sure that the healers who gave me the mission know how well you assisted me." She smiled kindly and nodded once more. She wasn't sure why, but she felt that this young Uchiha would be worth getting to know.